Ajax enjoyed a successful Sunday afternoon in the Euroborg as they secured an emphatic 2-5 victory over FC Groningen.

Ajax's performance was significantly better than it was against NEC Nijmegen and Hajduk Split, and the Amsterdammers will be hoping to build on this win in the coming games.

Marcos Leonardo started against Groningen, which was his first start since 20 August, in Ajax's 2-4 win against FC Sion in UEFA Conference League qualifying. Tolu Arokodare has been exceptional this season and has established himself as Michel's first-choice striker.

Leonardo has not scored since Ajax's 0-4 win over Telstar at the end of August. He spent the entirety of the games against Fortuna Sittard, Willem II and Excelsior on the bench, with Michel Sanchez opting to use Kasper Dolberg instead, despite the fact that Ajax were open to selling the Danish forward in the summer.

Since the international break, Leonardo has featured in all three of Ajax's games, coming on as a substitute against NEC Nijmegen and Hajduk Split, and finally starting again in the game against Groningen. Leonardo had a couple of chances to score on Sunday, but could not find the back of the net. He did win a penalty, though, which Davy Klaassen missed.

Leonardo has only scored twice in 12 appearances for Ajax, and he has also missed several big chances. Despite that, though, Rafael van der Vaart is optimistic about Leonardo. Speaking on Studio Sport Voetbal, Van der Vaart revealed that he has confidence in Leonardo, despite the Brazilian striker's difficult start to life in Amsterdam.

"Things are really going against him. He has had so many clear-cut chances, but then something or someone gets in the way again," Van der Vaart said.

"Today was no exception. The Groningen goalkeeper let all of Mokio's balls through, but with Leonardo, he was in the right place every time.

"I think we still need to be patient with this striker. I'll probably be laughed at, but it really will work out. I have confidence."

Van der Vaart is completely right about Leonardo. It is clear that he has quality, and he is doing a lot right. It is only a matter of time till the goals follow.

Against Groningen, he had a fairly good game, apart from the error he made in the lead-up to Groningen's first goal. He made a lot of good runs and got himself into a few good goal-scoring positions.

Tolu has been exceptional, but one of the things he doesn't do much is make runs in behind. He prefers receiving the ball directly into his feet. In general, Ajax's forwards do not make enough runs in behind, but Leonardo does, and he therefore adds a different dynamic to Ajax's forward line.

Tolu deserves to be Ajax's first-choice striker, but Michel also needs to find a way to give Leonardo regular game time. Once he scores a goal again, it should hopefully give him the confidence boost he needs.